Page 59 of Love Like Ours

When they were ready for a break, they sat down and ate chocolate chip pancakes and filled Parker in on everything that had happened the night before.

Since Loki was up and running around, Palmer decided to swing him by the vet later that day to have him checked out.

After breakfast, she helped them finish installing her new door before cleaning up and heading into work. She made a point to give Palmer a set of keys to the house so he could start to move his things over that day.

Since Lucas was out of work for the rest of the month, enjoying time with his new family, she was busier than ever. It seemed like none of the employees knew how to do their jobs anymore. She caught several mistakes from both the kitchen staff and the waitstaff.

By the dinner rush, she had a full-blown headache. There was a party scheduled on the rooftop terrace, and she had made sure they had extra staff that night to help with the crowd. An hour later, once the party upstairs was in full swing, she swallowed a couple aspirin and ate half of a chicken chimichanga and three sopapillas, which helped.

Friday nights were always crazy but with the break in the weather—it was the warmest night of the spring so far—and with the big party upstairs, the place was packed. It didn’t surprise her to see Palmer and his brother’s entire family sitting at a booth when she made her way through the front dining area. Since she’d been working upstairs, she didn’t know how long they’d been there.

“Hey.” She made her way over and kissed him. “Have you all ordered yet?”

“Yes,” Palmer and Sara said at the same time.

“It’s busy tonight,” Sara chimed in.

“Fridays.” She chuckled and refilled Palmer’s tea. “I wish I could join you, but I just finished my break about twenty minutes ago.”

“It’s okay, I was going to hang around until closing,” Palmer added.

“Good, then maybe we can have some dessert before we head home.” She kissed him again. “Gotta get back upstairs. See ya,” she said to everyone before heading back to work.

During one of her rounds up and down the stairs, she heard shouting from the rooftop. She set her tray down and rushed up to see what was going on.

Two men were standing face to face, fists clenched as they toed off. The people surrounding them were all shouting and trying to pull the men apart.

“Enough!” Sophia screamed, gaining the attention of a few people as she pushed her way through the crowd.

“Aaron. Leo.” She barked the men’s names. “Enough!” That got the men’s attention. “I warned you last time.” She pointed at each man’s chest, then pointed towards the door. “Out.” The men shoved one another slightly, then parted as the crowd dissipated.

“Sorry, Soph,” Leo said as he walked by her.

“One month,” she warned. “Like last time.”

“Come on, that’s not fair. We didn’t even throw punches this time,” Leo complained.

“Since you can’t get along with your brother, you’re not setting foot in my restaurant for at least a month.” She narrowed her eyes. “And don’t forget to pay your bill. And tip well.” She motioned towards the upstairs bar area.

“Yes, ma’am.” Leo sighed and turned to walk towards the bar area.

“You know, one of these days, those two are going to kill each other,” someone joked.

“It’s a wonder they went into business together,” someone else added.

Aaron and Leo ran the new auto parts store just outside of town. It was the first that offered everything from oil changes to tires. It had been needed in the growing town and had already earned its place as one of Pride’s most profitable business.

The only problem was, the brother’s fought more often than not. Rumor had it that Aaron was ready to move on and Leo, the more levelheaded brother, was trying to buy his brother out.

While she got back to work, she wondered what life would have been like if she and Lucas hadn’t gotten along. Maybe they got along so great because her brother was ten years older than her?

Whatever the reason, she couldn’t remember having one fight with him. Ever. They worked great together and were always laughing and hanging out.

She didn’t think she could have made it through the last few months without his and Avery’s support.

Once all the excitement upstairs was over, the majority of the party group left. Almost an hour later, Palmer came up to keep her company while she cleaned up. He even helped her straighten the tables and chairs.

Once everything was cleaned and she’d sent the staff home, they sat up on the rooftop eating tres leches and sopapillas under the string lights and stars. To say that it was magical was an understatement.

They talked for hours, laughed, and even danced when Palmer played her favorite song on his phone.

When they returned home, she was happily surprised to see Loki and all of Palmer’s belongings already organized and put away in their room. He was home. They were home. Nothing had ever felt this right.